Rail and flange lubricator



J. R. STEELE ET AL RAIL AND FLANGE LUBRICATOR May 19, 1959 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed July 19, 1957 May 19, 1959 J. R. STEELE ET AL RAIL AND FLANGE LUBRICATOR Filed July 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,887,179 Patented May 19, 1959 RAIL AND FLANGE LUBRICATOR James R. Steele, Owego, and Stephen M. Lounsberry,

Nichols, N .Y., assignors to Moore and Steele 'Corporation, Owego, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application July 19, 1957, Serial No. 673,018

6 Claims. (Cl. 184-3) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in wheel-flange oilers, and more particularly to an improved applicator for distributing lubricant to the inner face of the railhead of a rail and, consequently, to the inner faces of the car wheel flanges in railroad equipment.

Various devices have heretofore been proposed for lubricating the contacting inner surfaces of wheel flanges and rails, particularly adjacent to curves where centrifugal force causes an enormous lateral thrust of the wheel flanges against the railhead and the wear of these engaging parts is extensive unless they are properly lubricated.

'One object of the invention is to provide a means for distributing the oil from a single pumping mechanism equally to a plurality of longitudinally spaced applicators positioned adjacent to the railhead.

Another object is to provide an improved form of oil distributing applicator plate and flexible shelf therefor.

Still another object is to provide an improved flexible drive shaft to convert reciprocal movement from the pump actuating mechanism adjacent to the railhead to rotary motion to actuate the gear operated grease lubricant distributor.

Various other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of the mechanisms involving the principles of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus assembled on the rail and adjacent thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the rail showing the applicator blade and its supporting block secured thereto and in dotted outline the passageway for the lubricant;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse horizontal view of the applicator blade in its assembly to the rail;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse View, generally similar to Fig. 3, additionally showing the flexible shelf secured to the applicator blade and a portion of a railway wheel in phantom outline;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of the applicator blade with the flexible shelf secured thereto;

Fig. 6 is a transverse view substantially on .line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view looking at the outer face of the applicator blade;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view looking at the inner face of the applicator blade clearly showing the grease channel extending upwardly therein;

Fig. 9 is a top-plan view of the applicator;

Fig. 10 is an elevational side view of the applicator adjacent to a railhead with a railway car wheel shown in phantom lines in successive positions of travel past the applicator, and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal transverse view partly in section of the flexible drive shaft extending from the plunger housing to the grease lubricant tank.

Heretofore, those who have applied their talents to improving wheel flange oilers have developed arrangements,

all of which, have been expensive, either to manufacture because of their involved construction, or otherwise so because they were not designed to be expendable. Moreover, no consideration appears to have been given to the aspect of providing an applicator blade having a specific contour designed and arranged in such a way as to deflect the railway car wheel away from the railhead and at the same time be constructed so that this deflection will enable the wheel to pick up grease lubricant. Additionally, because of its simplicity in construction the applicator blade comprising the present invention may be quickly removed by an unskilled workman for cleaning or replacing. Hence, due to its relatively small size the present applicator blade may also be made of a high carbon high chrome tool steel which has very high wear resistance, and being heat treated, as well, it is capable of giving maximum service.

With reference to the drawing, and particularly Fig. 1, there is illustrated a plan-view of the apparatus assembled on a section of rail. Portions of the rail ties are indicated, generally as T, with a length of rail R being positioned thereon for purposes of illustration. The grease lubricant receptacle of a conventional well-known type is shown at G and extending therefrom on the side adjacent to the rail are suitable feed pipe means P comprising, where practical, metallic pipe and necessary connectors to attach the grease proof hose to the blocks 1 that support the applicator blades 5.

The channel 3 (Fig. 6) consists of a semi-cylindrical or dished out trough portion which is complemental to the channel 4 provided in the rear surface 5 of the applicator blade 5.

The applicator blade supporting block 1 is designed to conform to the standard railway rail, the divergent portion 6 being arranged to be positioned beneath the railhead with the lower extremity 7 thereof seated on the base flange of the rail (Fig. 3). It is to be noted that the surface of the block 1 which abuts the rear face 5 of the applicator blade 5 lies in a plane substantially in vertical alignment with the innermost edge of the railhead R. Consequently, when the base 5" of the applicator blade is fastened by means of cap screws 8 to the threaded apertures 9 of its supporting block 1, its dished out portion or channel 4 is brought into engagement with the side of the railway head at 10. t

The medial area of the base portion 5" of the applicator blade is of relatively the same thickness as the applicator and merges into the blade portion thereof. The area above the horizontal shelves 1212 flows progressively radially in a smooth curve to terminate in a feathered edge 11 throughout the entire area thereof.

Referring now to any one of Figs. 3, 4, or 6 it will be noted that the base portion of block 1 is suitably apertured, as in 13, and adapted to have secured thereto, by means of cap screws 14, through the upper aperture, a dependent L-shaped member 15. The lowermost aperture 16 of the L-shaped member is adapted to receive a threaded element 17 the upwardly inturned clamping edge of which engages the opposite side of the base flange of rail R to the rear of block 1. i

In the view of Fig. 10 there is shown the applicator blade positioned adjacent to the railhead and in phantom lines a railway car wheel as it advances in the direction of the arrow. It will be understood, that as the railway car wheel aproaches the applicator blade the inner area of its depending flange (see Fig. 4) is in substantial contact with the railhead. However, it will be noted that as the wheel flange advances over the applicator blade it is de flected inwardly away from the railhead. The impact of the wheel flange against the applicator blade and its path of travel thereover is indicated in Fig. by the cross-hatching at 18. Obviously, the grease lubricant will be discharged to the flange of the wheel in the conventional manner by the lower extremity thereof suddenly depressing the plunger 19 against a suitable compression spring (not shown) located within the housing 20. Projecting from housing 20 is a coupling 21 suitably arranged for rotation upon impact of the car wheel flange against the reciprocal plunger 19. Reference at this point is rnade to the patent to Bates No. 2,223,714 for the type of pump actuating mechanism for rail lubricators that We have found to be suitable for operation of our improvement in wheel flange oilers. A similar coupler 22 is atfixed to and projects from the grease tank receptacle G and by means of which any convenient gear type grease pump may discharge grease through the feed pipe to the individual applicators. Secured between the respective couplings 21 and 22 is illustrated a hollow flexible drive shaft, indicated generally, as D. This flexible drive shaft includes a body 23 which may be either of solid stock or tubular, whichever is preferred, to the respective ends of which is fastened a short length of wire reinforced hose 2424. Suitable hose clamps secure the wire reinforced hose to the body 23 and each end of the couplings referred to above.

With further reference to Fig. 11, those who are familiar with organizations of this type will realize that it is customary to use two Hookes universal joints as the means to transmit motion between the actuated plunger and the grease tank gear pump. However, these universal joints are expensive to buy and require a substantial amount of labor to install. Moreover, since these are rigid joints provision must be made in the shaft to allow for expansion and contraction and this requires the additional expense of including a sliding or telescopic joint.

Furthermore, when the conventional universal joints, supra, are used in a dry shaft it is necessary to grease them frequently to reduce wear, although quite often they are neglected with the result that many as a consequence have to be replaced.

As is well-known in the operation of a lubricator of this type, rotating motion back and forth, through approximately 15 degrees, must be transmitted from the coupling 21 carried by the plunger housing to that of the coupling 22 extending from the grease tank receptacle. We have found that by using two pieces of reinforced hose, as illustrated, we are able to transmit the required rotating motion between the respective couplings through approxi mately 15 degrees, even though these two couplings are at an angle to each other.

This is accomplished by reason of the fact that the two pieces of reinforced hose are sufficiently flexible to take up the angularity, during the limited rotation, but nonetheless are rigid enough to transmit the limited rotation necessary between the couplings.

An additional important function of this type of drive shaft is that it has ample flexibility to accommodate the resultant expansion and contraction, regardless of the severity of weather conditions to which it may be subjected.

Another embodiment of this invention incorporating the. applicator blade is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 wherein an .4. apertured flexible slab-like retainer element 25 is fastened to the base 5" of the applicator by cap screws 8. The area lying between the retainer element and the face of the applicator blade forms a crevice into which grease lubricant may gradually seep and accumulate as it is progressively discharged from the channel way 4 as car wheels successively pass thereover. The upper extremity of the retainer element forms a shelf upon which grease lubricant seepage may extend and the crevice referred to above may be stuffed full of waste, cloth, burlap or any other suitable filler. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any flexible material such as rubber belting or other grease proof rubber sheeting of suflicient caliper would be adequate for the purpose intended for the retainer. Since the outer periphery of car wheel flanges vary in circumference it is preferred to manufacture the slab-like retainer element of flexible material to compensate for these variations and thereby permit the retainer element to be deflected where oversize wheels are encountered.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wheel flange lubricating applicator comprising area of the base portion being the same thickness as the. blade and merging thereinto, the front face of the blade.

progressively flowing from the medial area thereof toward: said rear face in a smooth curve and terminating at said rear face to form a feathered edge therewith, and a grease. conducting channel in the rear face.

2. A wheel flange lubricating applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal shelf portion on the frontv face lies in a plane beneath the front face of the. blade.

3. A wheel flange lubricating applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein a retainer element is arranged in abutting relation to the front surface of the base portion.

4. A wheel flange lubricating applicator as claimed: in claim 3, wherein the retainer element extends above; the shelf area of the front surface of said base portion and provides a crevice for grease lubricant accumulation.

5. A wheel flange lubricating applicator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the retainer element is constructed of a flexible grease proof material.

6. A wheel flange lubricating applicator as claimed in; claim 4, wherein the crevice is arranged to contain packmg.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,548 Bates April 30, 1935' 1,458,894 Schwartz June 12, 1923 2,145,067 Bates Jan. 24, 1939' 2,223,714 Bates Dec. 3, 1940 2,608,840 Lahaie Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF conmzc'rmm Patent N00 2, 887,179 May 19 Jellies Steele at 3.7.;

It is hereby certiiiied that error aypears in. the abova numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read m3 correcteci below,

' the lines 1. and 2 and in the headin to the win-ted owo u 7 1 Q .L speclzlcatwn, 5116- 3, name at cs invent r, for "Stephen M9 Lozmsmerry" read aw Steplczen M. Lounsberry, Jr

Signed and. sealed this 16th d y Februwy 3.9690

1W1; .1D1LINE t t r ROBERT c. WATSON Attesting Officer Comissioner of Patents 

